To Free a Soul

Chapter Twelve

That afternoon I was sent home early. After the whole ordeal with my mother I just I went home and cleaned up the mess I had made. My apartment resembled my childhood home, with shards of glass everywhere. Hawks had offered to walk me home and help after refusing to leave my side all day but he had am evening patrol. And besides, I felt better! It really was just a little mess, no biggie really. I would be perfectly fine on my own. My mother wouldn't attack me in the streets and yes a large mess awaited me but it was one I had created so it was one I had to clean.

I'd dug my grave and now I had to lie in it.

It took hours before everything was finally clean. Literal hours. By the time I was done it was completely dark outside. Hawks hadn't come back across to check on me but that was okay. It was likely that he was either still on patrol or had just gotten back from an especially rough one. He couldn't be around to pretoect me forever and I should feel safe in my own home.

The comission had been alerted about the fight between my mother and I earlier and they were working on catching her and deporting her. They were worried that if she stuck around she'd be a bad influence to me and they couldn't let that happen, not when they had me right where they wanted me. They had yet to catch her but I had a feeling that that's what Hawks was working on.

I was plodding around my appartment, making dinner and listening to some music to try and take my mind off of things. I was safe here and if not Hawks would feel it through the feather on my... oh. Hawks still had my necklace, likely made that I threw it off the balcony in a fit of rage earlier.

I was safe on my own home, I had to keep repeating that to myself. I was safe in my own home and nothing could get me. I was safe in my own home.

Until I wasn't.

The noise from outside started as a buzzing in the background. Someone was yelling, screaming at someone else while another person was choking. I shook it off, it could be anything and I couldn't get involved. Until the sounds of screaming and yelling got closer and closer and I realised why the voice had sounded vaguely familiar from so far down. Of course it had. It was none other then my mother herself, back to almost full strength and draining everything she touched. She called my name as she walked down the hallways and I waited with baited breath. My door was locked and there was no way she could get in... right? There was no way.

I stood, frozen in place as the voices and sounds got louder and louder. I knew what was coming. My door was blasted open, flinging back against the wall with a loud bang. I screamed and ran for somewhere, anywhere. I panicked and ran to hide under my bed like I used to do as a child.

But there was no stopping it.

I cried out in pain as a hand reached under the bed and pulled me out by my ankle. The hand gripped hard and it felt like all my life was draining from me with just that one touch, from that one spot. I didn't even need to turn around to know who it was, but when I did anyway my suspicions were confirmed. My mother pulled me from the bedroom and into the living room, where she sat down heavily on my couch and pulled me to sit beside her, changing her grip to now grip my arm. My ankle had turned black from where she grabbed me, a side effect of her quirk.

"HAWKS!" I screamed, just hoping he was home and thrashing in my mother's tight grip "PLEASE! HAWKS HELP!"

I thrashed around, disappointed in myself. I had the training, the know how and the skills and yet why couldn't I get away? I had escaped POW camps, escaped capture in the middle of the desert, but when this woman comes in and grabs a hold of me I can't do anything.

"HAWKS!" I called desperately once again

I reached for the feather at my neck to maybe call him through that, only to curse when I realised it was no longer there, not after my fit this morning. I started sobbing, curling in on myself as much as I could as I felt the life drain from me. I could hear my mother smugly telling me she had won, and to gibe in to her and just fall asleep against her like I did when I was little. I hummed in agreement, no longer trying to pull away. I fell to the side and curled up against her body, resting ny head on her chest. I was too tired, to drained to fight anymore, while she grew stronger and more capable by the minute. I didn't want to be there but my brain was foggy and I wasn't thinking straight.